Animal waterers have developed over the years to automatically dispense a liquid into a container. Typically, the container is a vessel connected to a water source which can be selectively activated to fill the vessel with the liquid while also being selectively deactivated so that the vessel does not overflow.
In order to activate and deactivate the water source, a traditional animal waterer utilizes a float valve. The float valve includes a float, a float arm, and a valve body. The float lies on the surface of the liquid and can be raised or lowered by the level of the liquid in the vessel. As more liquid is added to the vessel, the float rises and manipulates the float arm to close the valve and not allow additional liquid to enter the vessel. As the liquid leaves the vessel such as by an animal consuming the water, or by evaporation or spillage, the float eventually lowers a sufficient amount such that the valve is re-opened. Liquid is allowed to flow and the vessel is filled with the liquid until the valve is closed again.
The float valve of a standard animal waterer is exposed to potential maltreatment by the animal as well as exposure to weather. These outside forces, along with normal wear and tear, leave the parts of the float valve susceptible to damage and the parts must frequently be replaced. The typical float valve of an animal waterer utilizes fasteners such as cotter pins or screws to secure the float and float arm to the valve body. In addition to requiring extra parts, replacing the parts of the valve body is time consuming and requires tools to remove fasteners such as cotter pins or screws. Since some users of animal waterers may possess many individual waterers, the number of parts and time needed to repair damaged waterers due to a worn or malfunctioning valve seal can be significant. A float valve assembly which may be disassembled without tools would expedite replacement of valve parts.